Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminum in the freshwater ecosystems of the Kola subarctic region (Russia) / Moiseenko T. I., Kudryavtseva L. P., Rodyushkin I. V. [et al.] // The Science of the Total Environment. - 1995. - Т. 160/161. - С. 715-727.

ELSEVIER The Science of the Total Environment 160/161 (1995) 715-727 the Science of the Total Environment Ли InternatlMulJournal farScientific Research Into the Environment and MsRelationship with Man Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminum in the freshwater ecosystems of the Kola Subarctic region (Russia) T.I. Moiseenko*, L.P. Kudryavtseva, I.V. Rodyushkin, V.A. Dauvalter, A.A. Lukin, NA. Kashulin Institute o f North Ecological Industrial Problems, 14 Fersman Str., Apatity, Murmansk Region 184200, Russian Federation Abstract Airborne contamination by heavy metals and aluminum in freshwater ecosystems of the Kola Peninsula in subarctic Russia has resulted from smoke emissions from large plants such as the Severonikel and Pechenganikel smelters and the Kandalaksha aluminum plant. Negative effects are intensified by acidic precipitation. Nickel is a primary technogenic effluent in surface waters of the Kola North. The area of highest nickel concentrations in water and lake sediments is limited to a 30-km zone around the copper-nickel plants; a similar situation exists for copper. Lake acidification increases the concentration of all metals in water, particularly aluminum. During flood times, a redistribution of metal speciation occurs that increases the concentration of more toxic metal species. We determined that there is a high intensity of metal accumulation in the organs of fish, and we discovered toxic effects, including specific pathologies and fish dysfunction. Based on this information, we estimated the critical levels of metals in freshwater ecosystems of the Kola North. Keywords: Freshwater ecosystem; Metals; Acidification; Sediments; Fish 1. Introduction The Kola Peninsula represents the northeast­ ern part of Fennoscandia, located mostly above the Arctic (Polar) Circle (Fig. 1). Heavy metals and aluminum (Al) are the main pollutants of Kola arctic and subarctic freshwater ecosystems. Sources of the metals are the emissions from the nonferrous metallurgy enterprises on the Kola *Corresponding author. Peninsula. Annual air dust pollution is 64000 t, including 2460 t of nickel, 1600 t of copper, and 100 t of cobalt (Moiseenko, 1992). In waters pol­ luted by heavy metals, the situation is aggravated by acidic precipitation. SO 2 emissions from the smelters total about 516000 t/year. Around the industrial sites, measured precipitation pH has ranged from a low of 3.4 to a high of 7.6. Average pH values of precipitation in the Kola region range from 4.4 to 4.7 (Makarova and Ratkin, 1991). The sea salt corrected sulfate concentration in 0048-9697/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science BV. All rights reserved. S SD I 0 0 4 8 -9 6 9 7 (9 5 )0 4 4 0 5 -C